Hild is no longer the bright child who made a place in Edwin Overking’s court with her seemingly supernatural insight.
She is 18, honed and tested, the formidable Lady of Elmet, now building her personal stronghold in the valley of Menewood.
But Edwin needs his most trusted advisor. Old alliances are fraying. Younger rivals are snapping at his heels. War is brewing — bitter war, winter war.
Not knowing who to trust, he becomes volatile and unpredictable. Hild begins to understand the true extent of the chaos ahead, and now she must navigate the turbulence and fight to protect both the kingdom and her own people.
Hild will face the losses and devastation of total war, and then she must find a new strength, the implacable determination to forge a radically different path for herself and her people.
In the valley, her last redoubt, her community slowly takes root. She trains herself and her unexpected allies in new ways of thinking as she prepares for one last wager: risking all on a single throw for a better future.
Menewood by Nicola Griffith is published on 3 October, 2023. It‘s the sequel to her novel Hild.
Nicola is also the author of Spear. Read her feature History, historicity, historiography and Arthurian legend.
